Tips on Physics Optional by Divyanshu Jha (AIR 9, CSE 2013)

Tips on Physics Optional by Divyanshu Jha (AIR 9, CSE 2013)

I took up physics as an optional because she had always been
my first love. Though my subject in college was Computer Science and Engineering
and even though I didn’t have any definite UPSC plans back then, I still took as
many Physics electives as I could during my time there. Being an almost half
graduate in Physics by the time I passed out( :) ), it was a natural choice even
though I had heard not very encouraging things about science optionals from
seniors. The other optional was the “popular” public administration. More on
that one later.

preparation for physics had a few major components

Books – I did an indepth study of all the study heads in
the syllabus from the original books. Initially I relied on foreign authors
for their lucidity and clarity as well as presentation but ultimately came
around to the Indian authors who focus on exam writing styles and detailed
derivations.

Senior’s notes – I cannot thank Abhijeet Agrawal enough
for his help to his juniors. His blog at http://abhijeetagrawal.blogspot.in/
is a MUST for all physics aspirants. Although his book list might make even
the most seasoned tayyari waala think again for a moment, but his online
notes are priceless! Absolutely priceless! Mr agrawal, thank you so much!

My own notes: After my first haphazard failed attempt, I
sat down to make my own notes collecting(and discarding) material from AA’s
notes as well as all the books I had read. Although lacking in heft, they
were colorfully done and remain the only example of any sort of effort that
I might have shown during my preparation. I will try and possibly upload
them in a month’s time following in the footsteps of Mr AA. However, please
note \my notes are far far inferior to his. (No, this is not false humility)

Test Series/Coaching – I had joined Vajpeyi Sir’s classes
in my first attempt but was unable to attend many classes as my preparation
had started falling behind and I was unable to leverage the maximum out of
the classes. However, in my second attempt I gave all the tests and sat for
discussion classes and learnt a lot on answer writing styles, need for speed
and accuracy required in the exam.

Before Exam Day – The physics paper requires a level of
practice that is staggering. The questions are never difficult and given
enough time, every single person sitting for the exam can solve it
completely. But thats the crux. We aren’t given enough time to breathe, let
alone think the steps for derivations and proofs. Which means that all the
processing has to happen beforehand. Its a must that every single major
proof/derivation should be reproducible at a moment’s notice. Unless one
reaches that stage for 6-7 syllabus heads, she/he is not ready for the exam.
Its a very soul killing exercise(well, most of UPSC preparation is) but
something that has to be done, even if that kills the beauty of physics as a
subject

Exam day – A lot of things come into play – the questions
you will choose to write( I tried to focus on the ones no one would attempt
but only if I am sure that I knew how to do it), the possibility that You
might get stuck(never a good idea, it wastes time and lowers your confidence
especially if this happens early on), the size of the bench( UPSC tables are
the best :) ) , and realizing mid way to a question that its wrong and being
stuck with just half a page to do it right again. Unlike humanities, there
are right and wrong ways to do a question, and with limited page space we
have to be extremely careful and certain before even starting a question
Tutorial Sheets by Vajpayee Sir as well as question papers from previous
years (CSE as well as IFoS) were a constant comapanion to keep practicing
from. The weekly tests also helped revise the syllabus heads one by one and
kept the preparation on track till mains happened.